After lunch today, I began to feel a strange soreness in my
mouth. I had a root canal several years
ago (like 30!) and my dentist back in the states told me this condition might
rear its ugly head one day. So, after
lunch, we went dentist hunting. And they
are in season, so to speak.
Our search began at 1:00.
Walking around the streets of Seoul, we saw several signs for
dentists. We visited a couple of
practices, but everyone was out to lunch.
I guess all Seoulites eat lunch around 1:00PM. Instead of waiting around, my wife suggested
we visit the dental office in our building.
That turned out to be wonderful advice.
At 2:00PM I walked into Dr. Kim’s office and was happily greeted
by the good doctor himself. I briefly
explained my discomfort, and he told to have a seat and that he’d be right with
me. He wasn’t kidding. I barely got my jacket and scarf off when we began
leading me back for an examination. He, along
with the help of his cheerful assistant, sat me down in his fancy dental chair
and leaned me back. After a few moments
of probing and questioning, he decided I needed an x-ray. He walked me to his x-ray room, and after a
few zaps, I was back in the chair.
While he waited for the film to develop, we began chatting
about America (Koreans are always interested in where you lived in the states)
and the recent presidential election (Korea elected their first female
president yesterday). After 2-3 minutes,
and with film in hand, he explained the cause of my discomfort and suggested I make
an appointment for minor surgery. I told
him we were planning to travel to Thailand in a few days. He assured me the surgery could wait and
prescribed some drugs (I don’t really know what they are) for inflammation and
the pain, along with an antibiotic.
He didn’t charge me a dime for the visit or x-ray, and I paid
less than $10 for the drugs. I made an appointment
for the surgery, which he estimated would cost around $100. I was stunned. I looked at my wife and we both were
stunned. No waiting, superior customer
service, a free visit, and cheap drugs.
Wow.
Of course South Korea has universal medical and dental care, paid for with taxes, right?
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe they do. But since I'm a non-citizen, I don't believe the dentist was remunerated (by the gov't) for my visit. All the information I gave was my name. I'm unsure how he would prove he treated me.
ReplyDeleteClearly, treating me was his highest priority, not receiving payment. It truly was a charitable act.
Well, that's pretty cool then. Maybe it's a character issue.
ReplyDeleteThe Korean emphasis on service is unmistakable. It's such a contrast to American style service, or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteHere's something that'll blow your socks off: American service (at for-profit establishments) is head and shoulders above Canadian service. In my experience, anyway.
ReplyDelete